gejohesch

Coming back to your comment. As I said earlier, I had the ground leveled up by a local worker, to smooth out all the irregularities ..... But, the result was not perfect, maybe only "95%" perfect ????and I could see it here and there rising a bit, and a few "gentle" hollows left. All that I thought was just a matter of a few mm and I could make up for it when putting the tiles up. .... Except that it did not work that simply! I realised quickly that a difference of a few mm (say in excess of 2-3 mm) would cause problems just about everywhere. Possibly a professional tiler would have the skills and experience to cope with it but I'm a beginner and frankly, I regret a bit having started the job myself. I have done a few sq metres already but with spending a lot of time scraping out at places to get the tiles in reasonable line-up. And it's not perfect. I realise that as soon as there is a misalignment of say more than 1-2 mm, anyone can see it! That being said, it's not bad for an amateur, I think, and I'm not going to call on a pro to finish the job up. So, I see myself at work for a couple of weeks ahead. ????The silver lining is that I will then have a lot more skills and experience .... to use somewhere else! Also, the area I'm tiling is rather back of the houses (we have 2 next to each other), so a 95% job will still be good enough. ????

I hope I'm not abusing the patience of the experts on the subject. But having read a number of articles on the subject online, I'm still very confused. The (numerous) ones relating to situations in the USA, for example, I find rather unhelpful, as I guess the average domestic energy consumption in the USA would be rather more than what we (my wife + myself + occasional friends or relatives staying with us) would use. Which brings me to the point : I don't really know how much we are using! I know, I should check our bills but my wife tells me she has not kept a single one! So, I would consider that we are rather average when it comes to electricity consumption. We are usually 2 persons in the house, running the usual combo of lights, fans, pumps (for the water), AC's not that much (about 50 BTU's maximum at a given time) and only during day time (we never sleep with AC's on), TV a little bit, an electric oven occasionally, a washing machine (rather often) - and I think that's about it! If people stay with us, I would say add another 50 BTU of AC's. That's all day time consumption. At night, it would only be 2 or 3 fans, 1 TV and a few lights. Considering all that, I would see the installation of solar panels aimed at covering our daytime needs only, and we would fall back on the public electricity supply (mains) at night time. I'm saying that because as I understand it : 1) solar panels don't generate anything at night; and 2) some people use a more complex solar system setup including expensive batteries to get power during the night. I would possibly consider installing mono-crystalline panels of 450 W, which I think are about 1m x 2.1m, and cost somewhere around 5-6,000 baht a piece. I can build a platform above our garage where I could line up 6 of them (if we need that many!). I will keep chasing my wife to start keeping her bills, but in the meantime, I would imagine that our situation is rather average and that a number of people already have relevant experience with solar panels in Thailand, and could give me a bit of advice. Thanks in advance!

For the ticklers amongst you : the wall on the last pic is not finished. Cosmetic work is still coming!

My intention is not to complain about everything in Thailand. It's a wonderful country in so many respects. But when it comes to getting certain things done, one should know it's not going to be like "back home". It may be useful for some to read about my experiences with building work in Isan. This discussion started about tiling. Just to conclude, I got the ground finished up by a local worker (50 sq m, 1000 baht), after I had levelled it up (it was severely dipping and very irregular to start with). The first pic show what I end up with. I splashed water over it to see how horizontal it really is. Where the water stands shows where it is not (areas outlined in red; see the reflections). Fortunately, it's only a matter of a few mm here and there, and I think I can easily correct for that when laying the tiles in - just use a bit more of tile adhesive where required. Now, I had a lot of work done in my wife's 2 houses and I started realising that I should not leave the workers out of my eyes for a second. First example of what can go wrong: the sliding door to our en-suite bathroom. The pic show that the door itself lines up with the electric box by the side of it (green lines). However, the door frame was not set perfectly vertical : see the red lines. No surprise, the door is not sliding 100% perfect, it has a slight tendency to catch in the groove. Second, a good example of a window not being right. It’s the same story as the sliding door, just a lot worse. One of the sliding panes is vertical (green), the other one is not (red). Third, a pillar built at the entrance of one of the houses is clearly not vertical (I have several such examples). OK, its only function is just to stay there and support whatever is on top – a few degrees of vertical will not jeopardise that function! Finally, I had a wall recently built by the street side. It obviously deviates strongly from certical (red). One can even see a light pole in the street through one of the small openings in the brickwork : it’s vertical (green). NB : all poles installed in the street in Thailand are not necessarily vertical. ???? Maybe my bad luck is that I found my wife’s houses good enough initially and only wanting a bit of renovation? If I counted all the efforts, time and money spent over the years….. ???? Summary : one has to be prepared to either spend a lot of money to get a reputable building team, well supervised, to do the work; or spend a significant amount of time controlling the work as it is being done (and good luck to get the workers understand what you are talking about, even if your Thai is OK); or accept the unavoidable imperfections (maybe consider them as part of the charm of living in this country?).

Thanks, I know that. Just go and explain it to the local guys around here, they cannot even manage a perfectly horizontal surface, and that even after using the water tube, making marks etc!

I have exactly the same problem when I visit my parents. They only have one bathroom and every time I take a shower I have to spend time getting the water to the drain. Annoying indeed.

Of course, as you say, water hose and chalk line (or red string set on nails as I see it done here). Achieving a gentle and regular dip is probably a different matter.

Thanks for the advice, but I find it challenging to achieve that over a surface of ca. 50 sq m. I would have to use some laser tool, I guess. Plus - and that is also a reply to the (justified) critics about how rough I had made the floor ("not fit for tiling etc") - I have now got a local guy to smooth the surface out (see pic, and compare with the pic I gave earlier), and the point is that the guy can only achieve a 95% flat and horizontal surface at best, I am pretty certain he would not be able to give the surface a gentle dip for water evacuation. Also, the whole area is covered by a roof. It's a kitchen + sitting area that I had built between my wife's 2 houses, it's open on one end, i.e. not completely walled up. So, there is no rain coming in. Finally, I have made sure that the tiles will be parallel / perpendicular to the wall on the left on the pic. That wall is the dominant feature within the area to tile up, separating the kitchen from the sitting area. It is not at a right angle to the wall on the right (the one with the windows)! Now, I'm waiting 3 or 4 days for the cement to cure a bit before starting with the tiles. Note that in my experience, the locals would not wait and start the next day after cementing....

Will check it up

Thanks, that's useful. I think one just has to be a bit careful when laying in the next set of tiles, making sure they level with the previous set. That's not terribly difficult after all (I've done that when "experimenting" with tiling up a wall at the back of the house - just worked fine).

Thanks, excellent comments. May I say, I have the impression that some here are pros experienced with how it's done in other countries, and probably on a commercial scale and from scratch - i.e. are used to "perfect / professional jobs"? That's not my situation. And I'm not concerned with the ground breaking off or whatever, it's solid concrete. So I'm building on it. That's already sufficient hard work for me!

In addition, there is one way of doing things that I think is characteristic of many Thai people which is : being over-confident and doing things too fast". Just see how they drive, or how they play pool! That's one of the reasons walls end up not being vertical, walls end up not being at 90 degrees from each other, windows don't open and close neatly etc...

Well spotted! Indeed, 18 by 18. Typed in too quickly!

I know, I know, and I understand your reaction. Someone already commented that "tiles will not fit nice on the floor as shown in my pic". I'm aware of that. As I already said, that is not going to be exactly the floor on which I will place the tiles. I had to fill places as deep as 15 cm in parts to bring the area to about the right horizontal level. I consider that as Part 1 of the job. Part 2 will be adding a thin layer on top to make it smooth and "tile-ready". As it is a large area (50 sq m), I probably will get it done by a local worker I know who is used to doing that sort of thing. One reason I did not get that guy to do Part 1 is that he demonstrated in previous jobs that he has a very dim understanding of what "horizontal, vertical, parallel and square angle" mean!

That's for sure! I plan to space the tiles by 5mm this time (I did with 2 mm when I "experimented" at the back of the house). I already have the spacers for that. I also bought the grout already (Home Pro) and made sure : it clearly states "2 to 7 mm" (I'm aware the grout recipe changes with the spacing). Re. your previous message, I understand the point about putting in (carefully!) a few tiles, then make a new batch of tile adhesive etc. What worries me in this is the time it will take me to make that new batch, while the adhesive already in place hardens : if I use the plastic "levelers", I can only use them within the set of tiles I just laid in, and not at the edges of those tiles because the adhesive will become too hard when I come back to put in a new set of tiles?

Thanks, all well noted. I mixed the adhesive with a trowel before (when I experimented on a wall at the back of the house), but that's fiddly, so I bought a "paddle" which I can fix on my drill. I also back-buttered the tiles when I "experimented", it worked well, so indeed I will keep the good practice! And yes I have the levellers this time, ready to use.

I agree. It's not the finished floor yet, it's only the "rough part" of it (and don't mind the mess around, I will clean up once it's all done!). It's just up to the level +/- half a cm about. I still have to pour a last layer to smooth it out.

Good suggestion, I guess I could have organised that with a little bit of effort (searching, inquiring etc). That being said, I always enjoyed a bit of a challenge. In this case, a bit of an engineering challenge!

I have non-slip tiles indeed! And I plan to use these plastic "auto-levelers" too! Already bought them. The only thing that worries me is that one has to work quite fast as the tile adhesive sets in within 10-15 minutes already.

See the pic showing how I'm leveling the ground. I'm sure the "pros" will have a lot to say about my "method" but here I am, I'm not a pro. As the surface is quite large, I built a series a ridges to the desired level and then filled in between. Where deep enough, I used blocks, red bricks and gross gravel to fill in as much space as possible before pouring in the mortar made from cement + sand + finer gravel. I know one could set up wooden planks by the sides to the desired level, but the ground was already hard cement so I could not do that. I've checked the link to the "Crocodile" brand, very useful, thanks!

Yes thanks, indeed I use plastic spacers, I really don't see why I should not, it's cheap enough. Saying that because I've seen the local handymen using matchsticks..... As a reply to the ones who contributed above (thanks to them again!), I remember seeing a woman laying down tiles in Phairath, big shop close to the airport in Khon Kaen, and she was very impressive, so yes of course there are excellent tilers I'm sure in Thailand - that's just not what I've seen done in the village..... Also, all these comments about using cement.... maybe, but there must be a good reason why special tile mortar is made, and I have seen enough not to automatically take the "Thai way of doing things" as an example to follow!

I'm about to embark tiling an outdoor (but covered) surface in my wife's place, about 40-50 square metres. I've got the tiles already, they are 45 x 45 cm (8 by 8 inches). I'm hesitant when I see the range of tile adhesive (thin set / mortar) available in Home Pro. Just looking at the "Crocodile" brand, it starts at 135 baht the bag of 20 kg (Yellow), then goes on to 160 baht for Blue, 198 baht for green and so on. The shop attendant said the yellow brand (the cheapest) is good enough for me with such tiles, but I prefer to double check : anyone with good advice on that? I never put tiles on a surface, I mean on the ground. My only experience is with tiles (30 x 30 cm) on a wall, that worked very well. It takes a bit of trial and error but after a dozen tiles or so, I felt more comfortable. Also, putting in the joint mortar later on was straightforward enough. I invested in a tile cutter, that also worked very well. On the basis of that experience, I decided to tile up that outdoor surface I mentioned above (it's a covered kitchen area) but this time it's on the ground. The ground was not horizontal, far from it, therefore I am in the process of levelling it up (before setting the tiles on it). That I find is a lot of work and a bit tricky, but I'm more than half the way through I think. One may ask why I'm not getting all that work done by local workers. The thing is, I have multiple examples in my wife's place of doors, windows, walls etc not being straight, not being vertical, nor horizontal, nor parallel nor at square angles. Thai workers seem to have a rather dim understanding of basic geometry..... Therefore, I prefer to do the job myself. Yes, it's much slower, but I have plenty of time and at least I know what I'm doing (to a point, hahaha!). Again, any words of wisdom on the subject of the tile adhesive, and any other stuff relates to tiling, will be most appreciated!

Thanks, that's also useful. I guess to go spend a week-end in Vientiane and then back to Thailand will be easy for my wife then. Myself, that will give me a new 30-days "breath of life" in Thailand when re-entering!

Thanks, that's useful. I knew the French used to be possessed 555!

Hi! Not sure this is the correct forum for my question. I'm considering crossing from Nong Khai to Vientiane in a few months, my wife (Thai) driving her car (registered in Thailand). Is that possible? Are there any formalities when crossing the border - and back? While I'm at it, I have another question. My wife may have her passport kept in a foreign embassy, with an ongoing visa application, at the time of our planned little trip to Vientiane. Will she be allowed to travel to Laos with her Thailand national card (bat prachachon)? Thanks for answers!